Jerusalem: Israeli occupation authorities Tuesday forced a Palestinian man to demolish his home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal al-Mukaber.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, the Jerusalem Governorate reported that the Israeli municipality coerced a Palestinian to demolish his 100-square-meter home, which housed eight people and was constructed in 2016.
The demolition was mandated under the pretext of building without a permit, a permit that is seldom granted to Palestinians in the occupied city. The Israeli municipality has been actively demolishing or compelling Palestinians to demolish their own houses as part of a broader policy intended to restrict Palestinian expansion and growth in occupied Jerusalem.
Faced with demolition orders, Palestinians in East Jerusalem often find themselves having to tear down their homes to avoid incurring the high costs charged by the Israeli municipality if it conducts the demolition. Palestinians argue they are forced into building without permits due to discriminatory practices by the Israeli municipality, which they claim refuses to issue permits or imposes unaffordable conditions for obtaining them.
Meanwhile, thousands of housing units are reportedly built for Jewish settlers in the city on lands appropriated from Palestinians, with these units being made readily accessible to settlers.
